Spurred on by grief and a lifetime of questions, Fred Baron has travelled hundreds of miles to meet the detectives hunting his brother’s killers.

The 72-year-old made the trip from to Tyneside from his home in Jersey to pass on new information to cops carrying out a review into the murder of schoolboy Allan Graham 44 years ago.

The 11-year-old was found dead in a ditch in January 1970 the morning after he vanished from a street in Newcastle.

No one was ever arrested over Allan’s murder and to this day who killed him remains a mystery.

But Northumbria Police are now carrying out a review into the case, after the Chronicle reopened appeals for information and traced a new witness, as part of our Unsolved Crimes series.

And Fred has met with three detectives from the force’s Major Crime Team and passed on new information about people his little brother may have associated with at the time he was killed.

Fred was also told that one of Northumbria’s top detectives, Det Supt Roger Ford, would be senior investigating officer on the case.

And he was assigned his own family liaison officer so he can keep up with progress from his home island.

Today the dad-of-four told the Chronicle of his delight that something was being done to try and find out who murdered Allan.

Fred said: “I have waited 44 years for this. I was able to tell them things they didn’t know already. This all should have been done back then, but I’m feeling really positive now. I feel like I’m making progress so it has been worth the trip.”

Allan was staying with another brother, Dennis Baron, now 70, at his home on Benwell’s Gerald Street, when he vanished.

The youngster, who lived with his mum Mary Wells in Gateshead, had been sent to a shop on the corner of the terrace to buy some cigarettes but never came home.

A farm worker found his body dumped in a watery ditch near Ponteland the next morning. He had been strangled.

In the 44 years that followed Fred has been haunted by Allan’s murder and the unanswered questions that have raced through his mind. But he remains determined to get to the truth.

During his visit to Tyneside Fred also paid an emotional visit to Allan’s grave, where he vowed to keep fighting for his little brother.

He added: “I won’t give up. I feel like this could be my last chance to get to the truth.”

Det Supt Ford said: “Unsolved murders and cases of such importance are never closed. I’ve personally assured Mr Baron we’re committed to doing everything possible to find out what happened to Allan. People can rest assured that any new information which is received and any new forensic developments which may aid this investigation will be acted upon.”